Oral appliances are utilized for a wide variety of dental purposes and are available in many forms. Mandibular advancement devices (MAD) and tongue retaining devices are commonly worn to promote airflow in cases of sleep apnea. Retainers are worn during the retention phase immediately following the removal of orthodontic braces. Dentures are often worn by those who have lost teeth to disease, decay, injury, or other causes. Finally, another common oral appliance is the mouth guard. Mouth guards are worn by athletes to protect their teeth in contact sports as well as those who are suffering from bruxism (excessive grinding of the teeth). Because these oral appliances are often worn for long periods of time (such as when sleeping) and due to the presence of large amounts of bacteria in the mouth, it is necessary to frequently clean the oral appliances after use. Bacteria and other contaminants may accumulate and form a biofilm on the surfaces of oral appliances, similar to dental plaque. One of the most common means of cleaning and oral appliance is by submerging the oral appliance in warm water with a denture cleaner (often in tablet form) in order to kill harmful bacteria on the oral appliance. However, in order to most thoroughly clean the oral appliance, it is often necessary to scrub the oral appliance with a brush or similar tool in addition to soaking the oral appliance in a cleaning solution. The present invention seeks to improve upon conventional means of cleaning oral appliances as well as provide the user with a convenient and straightforward means of maintaining the hygiene of oral appliances.
The present invention is an oral appliance cleaner and holder that allows the user to quickly and thoroughly clean an oral appliance. The present invention is utilized in conjunction with a liquid cleaning solution in order to both disinfect and scrub the oral appliance. The liquid cleaning solution is sealed within the present invention during the cleaning process. The present invention utilizes a rotating brush mechanism to allow the user to manually scrub the surface of the oral appliance.